Bringing it all to a Close

So my 2006/7 trip around the world has come to an end. I've had such a great time and regret nothing.

I don't have a favourite place or country, though I certainly have a number of highlights and places to which I will return. Certainly the North of Scotland, Oman, Port Douglas, Melbourne, and New Zealand would be included in that list. There's also lots of places I didn't have time to see, but have placed on my ever-growing list of future travel spots. This list is much too long to put here and is still growing.

The decision to visit only 9 countries in 8.5 months was a good one for me. As was this rule: In each country, spend more time outside of the main cities than in them.

A second rule was to stay a minimum of 2 nights in any one accommodation. Aside from a few places, I stuck to this, and found I was much less rushed as I travelled along.

Finally, the people I met along the way have been what made my trip wonderful. In chronological order, I give you:

Alexandra, Brad, Fiona, Graeme, Helen, Jenn, Alexandra, Jo, Luke, Niki, Trent, Victoria, Yvette, Zoe, Wombat, Trisha, Leith, Becca, James, Kosta, James, Frank, Hank, Lucy, Anthony, Peter, Jenny, Louis, Matt, Claire, Katie, Gina, Ann, Richard, Barry, Mary, Nick, Sharif, Kabir, Salim, Salim, Shawnah, The Teachers from Sheik Zayed School, Rachel, Erin, Jo, Jackie, Ollie, Greg, Libby, Tracy, Jim, David, Sarah, Sally, Jeff, Nat, Aude, Michael, Raphael, Rachel, Saskia, Curtis, Steve, Marika, Matt, Yvonne, Natalie, Yvonne, Maggie, Mark, Dave, Jeffery, Matt, Katherine, Krishna, Klaus, Nick, Jeff, Didier, and many many more.....

Thank you for sharing.

And thank YOU for reading.

The Last Leg

Said goodbye to Australia and to those I had spent time with over the past 6 months. I'll definately be back someday.
My plane landed in Dubai and I took the bus to Shawnah's house in Abu Dhabi where I planned to spend some quality time on the beach and relaxing. Over the next week I did just that..... and a rediculous amount of walking in the heat of the noon-day sun. By the end of the week I'd purchased the last of my holiday souvenirs and I'd spent enough time in the sun to ensure myself a tan that would last until my plane landed back in Canada. Turns out it is possible for my skin to be darker than that of my two sisters'; all I need to do is spend 12 consecutive months in summer and compare with them when they've just finished winter. Well after travelling and wandering airports for 26 hours and 49 consecutive waking hours, I found myself back in Canada.
Since being back for a bit I've been able to catch-up with family and some of my friends. I've also found a place to live in Toronto, I'll be starting back at work at the end of June, and I'm working on finding ways to make this new city home.